The kick-off meeting of the EU-MAT project in Joensuu

On October 22–23, Sofija Kekez-Baran and Leif-Gunnar Hanssen attended the kick-off meeting of the EU-MAT project – Effective Urban Material Mining in Cities, held in Joensuu, Finland.

The meeting brought together teams from UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Karelia UAS, RISE Sweden, and Aalto University. Each partner presented and discussed their work packages, followed by an engaging Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) workshop, where we collaboratively developed the project’s SDG pyramid.

On the second day, the organizers arranged a study tour around Joensuu, showcasing innovative organizations and sustainability-focused initiatives:
🏛️ Metla House - Headquarters of the European Forest Institute, where we had a presentation about the collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and the European Forest Institute.

🏗️ Carbonaide – A start-up working with local concrete producers on CO₂ curing of concrete elements, contributing to eco-friendly practices while improving material properties.

🪵 Wood Artist & Hiil – Sister companies focusing on innovative wood design and sustainable wood charring techniques for timber structures.

This inspiring meeting marked the start of a great collaboration across borders to promote circular construction and material reuse in northern cities.